The present disclosure relates to providing protective treatments to substrates. In particular, the disclosure relates to providing protective treatments to biological material substrates such as wood.
For millennia, wood has found use in a variety of applications including as a structural element in construction and as a medium for artistic sculptural pursuits. The carbohydrates cellulose and hemicellulose account for 75% of wood's most valuable components. Additionally, for each 45.35 kgs of cut, air-dried wood there are approximately 0.45 to 0.91 kgs of essential minerals and nutrients. Up to 56 biological components including vitamin E (mixed alpha, gamma and delta tocopherols), twelve additional vitamins, thirteen minerals, nitrogen, eighteen amino acids, chlorophyll, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and six fatty acids are also found in both growing and harvested woods.
In outdoor applications, wood is frequently treated with one or more wood protection substances to, for example, reduce its vulnerability to moisture and ultraviolet (UV) light and the damages associated therewith. A great majority of wood protection products, including many labeled as being green, contain ingredients hazardous and damaging to wood itself. Instead of containing wood-rejuvenating ingredients, many wood protection products contain hazardous and other man-made chemicals which do not naturally occur in wood and shorten rather than lengthen the life span of harvested wood. Following application, many wood coating or protection products actually accelerate the degradation of substrate wood.
One commonly used wood treatment substance free from hazardous ingredients is linseed oil, a common vegetable oil and long oil alkyd derived from flax seeds, which contains lipids, linolenic fatty acids, linoleic fatty acids and alpha tocopherol. Its high color gardner 1953 of 12-max. provides a small amount of UV protection. In addition to the color, the strongest form of vitamin E alpha tocopherol is available as well as linolenic fatty acids (omega-3) and linoleic fatty acid (omega-6). The relatively high linolenic fatty acid concentration of 51-56% found in linseed oil may result in a yellowing of the oil after prolonged sun and/or ultraviolet light exposure.
Red raspberry seed oil, an organic caneberry seed oil, is known to deeply penetrate substrates such as wood and is further known to contains two classes of macromolecules, namely lipids and carbohydrates.
When combined, linseed oil and red raspberry seed oil contain carbohydrates and lipids which are two of the four main classes of macromolecules found in all living things, including, living trees as well as harvested trees which are subsequently milled into cut wood.